Generally, skin is the largest protective organ that covers the entire body and maintains homeostasis on surface of the body with three layers consisting of epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous layer.
Dermis is the layer beneath epidermis, directly connected to a basal layer. Skin is made up of dermis that includes protein, glycoside, glycosaminoglycan, mineral, and inorganic salt in gelatinous form. In Dermis there are two layers: papillary and reticular layer. The Papillary layer includes of capillaries and lymphatics. Capillaries provide nutrition to skin and circulate blood. Lymphatics carry lymph. The Reticular layer includes collagen, elastin and a substrate. Collagen is a fiber related to skin wrinkle, elastin is an elastic fiber that gives elasticity to skin, and the substrate is mostly made of water. The Subcutaneous layer lies below dermis, contains plenty of fat, and attaches the skin to underlying muscle and bone.
One of the most popular treatments to prevent skin aging is massaging with a nutritious substance. Although this type of skin treatment provides nutrition to epidermis and may make skin glow, it does not last for long and rarely shows improvement instantaneously.
Another treatment uses a syringe to inject serum into the skin, but this treatment method is costly and causes side effects based on individual skin characteristics that result adversely affecting the skin.
A further treatment delivers high frequency energy indirectly to the dermis via the skin surface. Even with a high energy signal, this treatment does not effectively transmit high frequency energy to the dermis via the skin surface. Also, this treatment is costly because patients may need to receive multiple treatments to obtain measurable results.
Korean patent 2000-0058346 describes a device to reduce skin wrinkles by verifying wrinkle thickness, length and shape and setting pulse, time, elevation current and wattage to magnify the cell tissue. Via a hand piece, the needle length may be selected based on the length and depth of wrinkle to be reduced. The device uses a single needle that may not be sufficient for treatment. Korean patent 10-2009-23494 describes employing high frequency to treat skin. In detail, it attempts to revitalize cell tissue and maintain elasticity in skin, and minimizing skin aging by directly delivering high frequency energy into skin dermis (between epidermis and subcutaneous layer). The skin treatment device includes a pair of electrodes in a main body that deliver high frequency energy into the dermis reticular layer. This treatment method may include side effects, not limited to burning both epidermis and dermis between the needles, which may form a scar. Another problem of the treatment is maintaining finite control.
To limit epidermis burning the needles may be insulated except at the tip portion. Insulated needles may cause bigger penetration marks, pain and possible allergic reactions in patients. The needle insulation may also fail or come off due to repeated penetration resulting in heating of unintended areas. In addition, the device may generate a high temperature around needle tip and increase the possibility of dermis burning since the needle surface area is reduced by the insulation.
Another device uses a monopole configuration with a single electrode and a ground on another body location. Such a configuration may require large voltages to conduct enough energy to generate desired heat. The high voltage conduction may impact unintended body parts including the heart.